Hello,

I have a 1989 Volvo 240 DL and shes not wanting to start. My boyfriend was driving her when she decided to die on him. We thought that maybe it was just the fuel pump. Well, we fixed that and as we were putting it back in the fuel line snapped. She sat for a bit and we got her to someone to fix it. He fixed the fuel line issue and tried starting it. No luck. She has a "new" fuel pump, fuel sending unit, fuel relay and battery. We also replaced the distributor cap, rotor and spark plugs. The guy we took her to said her timing belt might be off? Everything i mentioned above works, shes turning over but shes just not starting. I really need to get this car to work because shes gonna be the car that i drive back and forth to university with. She does have some electrical issues (her back taillights wont seem to work but were pretty sure thats just a short). We thought maybe some water got in from the windshield so we got some caulk from AutoZone to fix that. Every part i mentioned above(fuel sending unit, etc) except the battery we got from PullaPart. (They are all working fine)

Please some advice on how to fix her would be awesome. The guy who had her before us didnt treat her that well and shes my first car, so i dont want to give up on her.

Edit: She was driving at least 4-5months before she died on us. We even took her to Gatlinburg,TN and back. (Live in Kentucky)

 

Hello and welcome to the forum.

That's right, don't give up, please. Problem 240's are usually easy fixes that often end in scrap metal.

Sounds like you already took care of the possible problem fuel pump relay, so we'll resort to a few other easy checks. When you turn 'her' to the 'on' position (don't start it) do you hear a click in the cabin and does the main fuel pump purge? You may have to get someone close to the pump to hear it. It should run for a few seconds. If not, there is no power to the pump.

Either way, you'll want to check the fuel pump fuse. These should fuse #4 and #6. Spin them around, replace them...

If the pumps still work and you eliminated a possible electrical problem. Try and start her once more for like, five seconds. Then pull a spark plug. Wet plug = no spark. Dry plug = no fuel.

Come back with results.

 

Hey guys,

Well my boyfriend and I have been working on the car when we could because we are in college and its finals time, so its been kinda hard trying to find the time. Okay, we checked the spark plugs, turns out they were wet so we replace those. Next item was the fuses, turns out there wasnt even a 6th fuse. So we replaced all those fuses.

However we have a new problem now. The car wont let me turn the key. My boyfriend said that the ignition fuse (i think thats what he said) is burning out. Basically when we try start the car, one of the fuses burns out. My boyfriend said it might be a short somewhere?
Help please?

Edit: We have the book for the car so thats what we used to do the fuses. But the picture is a little hard to read

 

When you say it won't let you turn the key is it like the key is jammed? or when you turn the key nothing happens, like a dead battery? If its the first one it means your steering wheel locked, and its can sometimes be a little hard disengaging it. Just turn the wheel with some force while turning the key and eventually you'll free the lock; hopefully its just that. Another thing it might be is your neutral safety switch (if you turn the key and nothing happens, like a dead battery). If its that you can still start your car in DRIVE while wiggling the gear selector side to side a bit. I don't recommend doing that because your starting the car in gear and yeah..... I would recommend getting that fixed by a mechanic because it's a pain working underneath a 240 without a lift. Do you and your boyfriend have a mechanic's book for your 240? I bought one for mine and it was one of the best things I ever bought. It has pictures of how to take all kinds of things off the car, which tools you need, and a list of generic problems and it tells you how to solve them. I've fixed countless things and have saved so much time doing so with that book. Here's one on ebay if your interested, they are usually very cheap:

Volvo 240 Series '76'93 (Haynes Manuals), Haynes Haynes, New Book (9781563921360) | eBay

Good luck with fixing it!

 

I have a 1989 240 DL when I start the engine for the first time it idles fine but after I drive it then shut it off like at the gas station when I start it back up it wont idel it shuts off it starts rite up but if I let it idle it shuts off I have to keep my foot on the gas a little when I get it moving after I start it it idles fine any Ideas would help thanks.